Outdoors with Ken Higgins My winter vacation in Alaska


North Buncombe’s full service hospital


providing care for small animals and horses


February is


Dental Health Month Our pets’ oral health is often


forgotten as part of their whole body health. Just like humans, pets can have gingivitis and periodontal disease. Periodontal disease causes pain, odor, and tooth loss. Periodontal disease can also cause kidney disease, heart disease and other life threaten- ing illnesses. Taking care of your pet’s teeth with regular care both at home and at your veterinarian’s office can help them live a longer and much more comfortable life. Ask your vet- erinarian what you can do to help your dog or cat have a healthy mouth.


Weaverville, Exit 15 off I-26 Mark Forde, DVM


Sue Reinecke, DVM 645-1616


By Ken Higgins Several weeks ago just as the


snow was melting, my wife decided I needed a vacation. Now I’m not one to take vacations for several reasons. I’m happy right where I’m at. I don’t want to meet any new people. As my friend James Brown says, the more people you know the more problems you have. My last vacation eight or 10 years


ago was stressful. When I returned, I had all these problems that oc- curred because I’d been gone. In- surance and tags expired on several vehicles and cows got out and ate the corn field. She was adamant so I gave it


some thought. I’d just got through talking to a longtime Indian friend, Elmer Marshal in Alaska, about his wolf hunting experience. Te Alas- ka Native Corporation has owner- ship at vast tracts of land on which native Alaskans can subsistence hunt. Living off the land is the tra- ditional way of life for my friend. Te wolf population has ex-


St Matthews Anglican Church


Weaverville 828-877-3708


Reems Creek Rd.


812 www.stmatthewsasheville.org SUNDAY — 10am Bible Study / 11am Eucharist


ploded and is wiping out moose and caribou which are use for subsistence hunting. Te State of Alaska is allowing aerial hunting of wolves in certain areas in an effort to save game populations. Super Cub planes are flown slowly at 30 miles per hour, 100 feet above the snow, as you lean out the window trying to hit a running wolf. You have to wear heavy winter clothing and goggles to protect your eyes from a wind chill of 20-60 degrees below zero. Tese wolves can weigh around 180 pounds.


Local Hauling North Buncombe


Madison area Stone • Dirt • Mulch 230-9891


Small Truck = Less Damage


CalvaryWorship Center


Proclaiming the Power of Pentecost


A church where you will be loved as you are but changed by the Lord Jesus Christ.


Sunday: Sunday School 10 am MorningWorship 11 am EveningWorship 6 pm


Wednesday: Kids & Youth Ministry 6:30 pm Adult Bible Study 6:45 pm


Pastor Ron Dodson invites you to an awesome worship experience!


101 Calvary Drive, Marshall, NC 28753 For more information call 828.649.1073


The coveted tail-section of an airplane. 14 THE TRIBUNE/LEADER - February 17 - February 23, 2011 www.weavervilletribune.com I decided a trip to Alaska with


a chance at wolf hunting might be fun as long as my wife didn’t find out about it. She doesn’t con- sider hunting a vacation. Another thought occurred that I might be able to go visit Sarah Palin and in- terview her for Te Leicester Leader. Maybe the cooking column. John Beavers, a retired mail-


man and good friend of mine, was her former mailman. John, who is from North Carolina, still lives in Anchorage and hunts with me in South Carolina. A call to Clint Parker, the paper’s editor, got an endorsement so I began to look for- ward to my vacation. Round trip airfare to Alaska on


Delta was about $600. Travel time one way was 14 hours. What a deal! I flew to Atlanta and got a flight di- rectly to Anchorage with a stop in Minneapolis. My seat was in the very back of


the plane by the bathroom. Just before take off the stewardess came back and asked me if I’d care to move to the first class section in the front of the plane. Te pilot wanted to balance the plane with more weight forward of the wings. Tings were looking up! My seat was 1-B in the very front


and on the aisle. I took my seat and looked around. Quit a few snooty- looking people stared back. My checkered shirt didn’t blend in, but I didn’t mind because it was qui-


eter, had a bigger seat, a free open bar and a meal. Te stewardess wanted to know if I’d like anything to drink. I said no; I’m just happy to be here. Everything was going great until


we got to Minneapolis. Te plane started turning left and continued for a long time. I ask the guy next to me if we were close to the air- port. He said we were still a long way out. After about 20 minutes the pilot made an announcement that there was a small problem with the plane. Te flaps were stuck but they were working on it. We were going to land in a little while and just as a precaution the crash trucks and crew would be standing by. Now while he made this an-


nouncement his voice broke several times. I know that flaps are just as important as the front wheels on a Kenworth dump truck. Next, the pilot started shak-


ing the plane as we flew with the left wing down. I looked out the left window at the snow-covered ground. A conversation in my mind went something like this: “Quick, Ken, run back to the rear of the plane! Get in the bathroom and put your feet against the door!” (I was remembering all the TV foot- age that shows the tail sections of crashed planes intact.) Unfortunately, before thinking


it through, I’d already chewed up a Valium I’d been saving. Tat, com-


bined with a half glass of free wine I’d had earlier, and I was pretty much paralyzed. Te plane finally landed about


90 minutes later, still in a left turn. We were transferred to another plane to finish the trip to Anchor- age. Arriving 16 hours after leaving Asheville, I picked up my rental car in a snow storm. I was dead tired so I was looking forward to getting to the Motel 6 that said they’d leave the light on. As I drove along in the snowy


dark, I noticed a Golden Corral Restaurant that was still open. I decided to get a meal. In the heavy snow, I could just see a long turn lane on the right leading to the res- taurant. Driving slowly down this turn lane, I was suddenly forced to stop. In front of me was a bus stop sign with a guy in a parka leaning against it. What I thought were tracks from cars in the deep snow had been from people walk- ing down the sidewalk. I drove off the sidewalk without feeling any bumps. Te meal cost $16. Everything


is expensive in Alaska. A gallon of milk is $9, with gas at $8-$10 a gallon in remote villages. Have you ever been approached in a lo- cal grocery store parking lot by a person (panhandler) who claims to need $2 for gas? Well in Alaska, it’s the same thing only they ask for $20!!


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